Three weeks of Jazz: Sept 18 – Oct 8

A one-off bumper dose of jazz anticipation this time around, lighting the way into the darker depths of autumn with the gleam of sizzling syncopation beckoning us onwards. Naturally there’s a lot happening and highlights are thicker than fallen leaves, so best to check out the various venues mentioned for other attractions sadly overlooked here. Glitziest highlight, however, has to be MOBO-garlanded saxophonist YolanDa Brown (Lantern, Friday 29) promoting new reggae-infused album Love, Politics, War. Always a welcoming performer this should be a highly dance-friendly evening of cool jazz.

Josephine Davis and Satori chums

There’s plenty of competition on the saxophone front, of course, and impressively much of it comes from female players – though, happily, this is now far from a rarity in the contemporary jazz world. First up is Josephine Davies, bringing her new trio Satori to the Hen & Chicken (Sunday 24): a conscious exercise in looser, freer playing that blossoms in the combined hands of Dave Whitford (bass), the super-cool Paul Clarvis (drums) and Ms Davies herself on tenor sax. Then the Bebop Club (Friday 6) welcomes back alto player Dee Byrne with her band Entropi which includes Bristol-raised pianist Rebecca Nash. Formed in 2014, the band explores Dee’s fascination with the boundary of order and chaos and latest album Moment Frozen is a fine selection of improvisatory moods. In between the two another local hero and alto player – Sophie Stockham – has a trio gig at Canteen (Wednesday 4).

Lady sang the blues – the great Bessie Smith

And if anyone needs reminding about the impact of female musicians to the development of blues and jazz in the 20th century When Ladies Sing The Blues (Watershed, Thursday 28) is a multi-media presentation about singers Bessie Smith and Billy Holiday. The evening includes recordings and film of the two singers linked by plenty of live music from vocalist Natalie Davis with guitarist Dave Merrick.

James Morton blows out the candles at The Fringe’s party

Local favourite saxophonist James Morton headlines the Fringe Jazz 5th Birthday Special (Wednesday 4), a well-deserved celebration of one of the city’s premier jazz venues. The Fringe delivers reliably memorable performances from top quality artists thanks to enterprising promoter Jon Taylor and James (who played at the Fringe’s opening night) has pulled together an all-star band for the occasion. Indicative of the venue’s breadth of taste, other gigs in this period include the Dave Newton piano/vibes trio (Wednesday 20), featuring Nat Steele on vibes, and Nick Malcolm’s Jade Quartet (Wednesday 27), a new project of original music exploring elements of electronica with the ever-experimental Jake McMurchie bringing his elaborate pedal board to the party. More vibes action will come to Future Inn when acclaimed young player Ralph Wyld brings his contemporary sextet Mosaic to town (Thursday 28).

Mark Pringle

Of course the Bebop Club has been purveying brilliant modern jazz for much longer, and it’s fitting that club helmsman Andy Hague features his own unrivalled quintet (Friday 22) on the programme alongside Berlin-based pianist Mark Pringle’s International Quartet. A protegé of the great John Law, Mark has become recognised both as player and composer and the band draws in influences from Scandinavia and the current Berlin scene. Andy’s group is a well-established Bristol jazz landmark, with the interaction between the front-line of Andy’s trumpet and Ben Waghorn on tenor sax with Jim Blomfield’s piano always a very entertaining class act.

Helen Money and cello

Even more experimentalism pops up all over the place as Bristol’s interest in free improvised music continues to flourish. The Old England has a couple of big nights: Manchester’s Duds have the mighty Coims in support (Tuesday 26) and the latter also pop up when the Colin Webster/Graham Dunning Duo appear (Friday 6). The Cube, meanwhile, offers two corkers with electric guitar megaband Ex-Easter Island Head sure to be raising the roof with hypnotic layered minimalism (Friday 6) and the astonishing cellist Helen Money (Tuesday 19). Regular ATP fave Helen makes a more composed music, admittedly, but support comes from the drone improvising duo Kuro and ambient electronicist Ocean Floor.

Alan Wilkinson – veteran improviser comes to Fringe Free session

All this free playing must greatly hearten the Fringe Free sessioneers, grizzled veterans of decades that they often be. They welcome the cross-generational sax and drums duo of Wilkinson-Cheetham (Monday 25) alongside local pairing Lash-Grigg for their monthly celebration of the unrestricted musical imagination.